The present invention relates to a human-body irradiation device with light radiation in the red/infrared region. Applications are known in which the human body is submitted to a continuous infrared or ultraviolet irradiation to carry out localised slimming treatments, for example. In the European Patent No. 0 764 039 continuous irradiation combined with a simultaneous physical activity is described.
In the known art a relationship between an increase in the radiated power and the treatment efficiency has been noticed. Higher powers would enable a greater deep heating to be achieved, making heat reach those points where it is more necessary for radiation efficiency. Unfortunately, the radiated power cannot be increased beyond relatively low levels without giving rise to skin reddening or, even worse, to skin burns.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,648,706 it is described a human-body irradiation device in which rows of incandescent, ultraviolet or infrared light lamps are caused to be sequentially and individually switched on to generate radiating waves intended for sliding along the surface of a patient""s body so as to avoid heat concentrations over the whole irradiated surface. In order to achieve this result, many rows of lamps are provided, each of which is turned off during the switching-on phases of the other rows. U.S. Pat. No. 3,648,706 aims at having a given energy distribution over the skin surface; on the contrary, it does not deal with deep heating of tissues. This solution does not therefore enable an optimal and uniform heating of the upper and lower layers of the subcutaneous tissues to be obtained.
It is a general aim of the present invention to provide an increase in the efficiency of the irradiating action, without the mentioned side effects.
In view of this aim, in accordance with the invention, a device for emission of red/infrared light radiation for treatment of the human body has been devised, which comprises red/infrared lamps and lamp-emission modulating means which modulates the light emission between a low level and a high level with a modulation period included between 0.1 and 20 seconds, the high-level duration being included between ⅔ and {fraction (8/10)} of the modulation period.